TueDuesday: Take Me Out to the Ball Game: How to Love Baseball (and Why You Should)

Welcome back to TueDuesday: A Weekly Series on Self Improvement (and Self Preservation), where I’ll share some of the hard-earned tips and tricks that have made their way up my sleeve after well over a decade of living alone in the city. 

TueDuesday goes out to all of you who have ever bravely moved into your very own apartment, only to encounter a cockroach the size of a well-fed hamster.  Barefoot.  In the middle of the night.  To all the ambitious drinkers who ever wanted to score the bartender’s number (and to the many of us who have failed, only to bravely try again).  To the pasta fiends.  To the Facebook lurkers.  To the happy, the hopeful, and the possibly hung-over guys and gals like me, navigating the city streets – or the country roads – without benefit of a map or a significant other.  Whether you’re chronically single, newly separated or happily coupled up and just looking for a way to make the occasional table for one a little more fun, there’s something here for you.

Like what you see?  Pass it along!  Strongly disagree?  Say so in the comments!  (Respectfully, please; after growing up with the last name Blewett, my ego can only take so much.)  Have an idea for a future TueDuesday post?  Send it over!  And keep in touch, via Twitter @LeahKBlewett and Instagram @leahkblewett.

Happy TueDuesday!

TueDuesday, June 23, 2015

Take Me Out to the Ball Game: How to Love Baseball (and Why You Should)

This is going to be a quicker-than-normal TueDuesday because I myself am going to a baseball game later on this evening (let’s go, Yankees!).  As for the impetus behind this one, let’s just say I can’t stand to hear another person tell me that baseball is boring.  Baseball is the opposite of boring.  And unlike the NCAA (a billion-dollar industry that can’t be bothered to compensate its players), the NHL (where players unrepentantly pummel each other like gladiators), FIFA (hellooooo, corruption indictments!), and the NFL (don’t even get me started), the MLB is perhaps the most benign of all major sports organizations.  The game demands skill and practice, and burly bruisers interested only in inflicting pain need not apply.  Heck, the biggest villain in baseball is Alex Rodriguez, and if I could get past his famously slimy personality and frequent herpes outbreaks, I might even find him kind of endearing.

I’m going to start posing when I successfully slide, too.  Less impressive in co-ed softball, but still.

So here you go: from a baseball fan born to and raised by baseball fans…

…here’s how to watch (and enjoy) a baseball game.

For starters, go see a game live.  Most anyone who complains about watching baseball on TV has no problem actually going to a game, partly because, y’know, beer and hot dogs, and partly because there’s something very exciting about actually being there when the crowd goes wild.  Which they do, reliably, after every home run.  Sing along to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” try to get on the Jumbotron, boo the opposing pitcher.  On a sunny summer day, there’s nothing not to like about a baseball game.

Wow, you’re thinking, that really wasn’t so bad.  On to the next step: go watch a game at a bar.  Find a sports bar with a solid following and plan to arrive about 30 minutes ahead of the first pitch, so you can secure a seat at the bar, your beverage of choice, and some finger food before the game begins.  Next, make friends with your neighbors.  Fellow fans will usually be easy to identify, wearing jerseys or caps, and if all else fails, chances are the bartender knows a thing or two.  As you’re watching the game, if something happens that you don’t understand, ask what the heck is going on.  Baseball is a game of strategy and nuance, and the more you know, the more there is to know.

This is a great excuse to make friends at the bar, even when I’m alone!  Yes, young padawan, it is.  But there’s an even greater challenge awaiting you.  It’s time to watch a game at home, alone.  Listen to the commentators, who (though usually inane) will give you some insight into what is happening and why.  Try and guess what’s happening before it’s announced, and try to determine why.  And yes, okay, fine: you can totally open a beer and order a pizza.  Just pay attention, too!

Now that you get the game, have some fun with baseball culture: watch Bull Durham, perhaps my favorite movie of all time (and fun fact: the way that Susan Sarandon met Tim Robbins!).  Pick a favorite team and start getting to know the players.  At least one of them will be hot; it’s some kind of obscure MLB by-law.  Try to catch a minor-league game at the local affiliate of a bigger club.  Minor league games are a blast, with less action on the field but all kinds of give-aways, prizes, theme nights and the like to make up for it.  Finally, share your newfound love of baseball with your friends.  And then, start all over again and take them out to the ball game.  As for me, I’m outta here – and I don’t care if I ever get back, ‘cause it’s root, root, root for the Yankees; if they don’t win it’s a shame.  

A real shame, because we’re playing the Phillies, and while I love Chase Utley (see below), they are just awful this year.

Next week: Fire up your martini shakers, because we’re learning How to Make Super Summery Cocktails at Home, with bonus guest appearances from some of my favorite bartenders!  Gulp.